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George Floyd from Judge Judy is not the same man killed by police in Minneapolis
If Your Time is short
- The person in the Judge Judy episode is a different George Floyd than the man killed by police in Minneapolis.
George Floyd’s death after a police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck catalyzed anger over Black Americans who have died at the hands of law enforcement. The killing led to demonstrations across the country and, in some cases, efforts to undermine Floyd as a victim of police violence.
In the weeks since Floyd died, a clip from the TV show "Judge Judy" has spread on social media. The case: A woman is seeking damages from George Floyd IV, who stole and crashed her car as he was chased by police in Chicago.
"Young George Floyd," one user wrote, sharing the video on Facebook.
This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
That’s because the George Floyd who appeared on Judge Judy is not the same George Floyd who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25. That person was named George Perry Floyd Jr., not George Floyd IV.
Featured Fact-check
Around the two-minute mark of the Judge Judy clip, the defendant George Floyd says he is 16 years old.
George Floyd Jr. was born in October 1973. The Judge Judy show debuted in September 1996, when Floyd was close to turning 23.
Floyd attended high school in Houston, while the defendant was arrested in Chicago.
Photos of Floyd when he was a teenager also show that this is a different person than the 16-year-old who appeared on TV.
We rate this claim False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, July 15, 2020
The New York Times, George Floyd from ‘I want to touch the world’ to ‘I can’t breathe,’ July 29, 2020
Estes Funeral Chapel, Mr. George Floyd Jr., visited July 31, 2020
Herald & Review, ‘Judge Judy’ to end after 25 seasons, but new gig lined up, March 2, 2020
IMDB, Judge Judy, visited July 31, 2020
Los Angeles Times, George Floyd’s Houston memorial reminds friends what they survived, June 8, 2020
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George Floyd from Judge Judy is not the same man killed by police in Minneapolis
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